The photo-focused smartphone is becoming a definite niche, and at Mobile World Congress, Lenovo is hoping to break in with a new model. The Vibe Shot (which sounds a lot like something you'd order at a questionable cocktail bar) is a Lollipop-equipped phone with a 16-megapixel rear camera and an 8MP front-facing shooter. Other photo-focused features include optical image stabilization, infrared autofocus, and a tri-color LED flash. Lenovo hopes to launch the Vibe Shot in June starting at $349.

We actually got a look at the Vibe Shot back in February when Lenovo's MWC lineup was leaked. What we didn't learn at the time about the phone is its price, which is particularly attractive considering its high-midrange specs. The phone packs a Snapdragon 615 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage plus a MicroSD card slot, and a 5" 1080p screen. It doesn't hurt that the phone looks great, with its thin 7.3mm profile and manual shutter button making it look like one of the older super-portable point and shoot cameras. A 2900mAh battery is an impressive inclusion, as is Android 5.0 at launch. Dual-SIM LTE is just icing on the cake.

All that being said, it's extremely unlikely that the Vibe Shot will make it to the US or major markets in Europe. With Lenovo holding the Motorola brand, the company isn't all that keen to push its own smartphones outside of the Asia-Pacific region. If you live there (or you know a good importer), you can check it out this summer. Note: Lenovo's current iteration of its software skin has a major case of Apple envy - see the hands-on photo from Cnet below.

Press Release

BARCELONA, SPAIN - March 2, 2015: To help capture and share more of life’s moments on-the-go, Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today at Mobile World Congress 2015 introduced three new exciting devices to the smartphone portfolio: the new VIBE Shot and A7000 smartphones and the Lenovo Pocket Projector.
With connectivity and mobility driving consumers to record and share more of life’s moments, we designed the VIBE Shot to help them capture every moment. Our first 2-in-1 camera smartphone, we developed the Lenovo VIBE Shot to be a true crossover device. It’s first a fabulous camera that shutterbugs will love, and secondly, a performance-laden, standalone smartphone.
VIBE Shot – A Bold, Full-featured Camera and Champion Smartphone
When looking for a solidly capable digital camera, shutterbugs will gravitate to the VIBE Shot for its exceptional camera quality and incredible responsiveness. Now users can have the best of both worlds with the VIBE Shot’s strong stand alone smartphone technologies.
For budding photographers, we’ve saturated the VIBE Shot’s camera with purposeful technologies, starting with its 16-megapixel rear camera featuring a six-piece modular lens. The camera has a full-frame 16:9 low-light sensor for shooting images in dark interiors or at night Thanks to the camera’s tricolor flash, photo luminosity adjusts automatically based on the ambient light conditions, and optical image stabilization reduces blur and keeps photos sharp. Life doesn’t always wait for the perfect shot, but the VIBE Shot is ready to keep up with infrared focus that’s twice as fast as normal autofocus and a physical shutter button, which means no more fumbling to find the right spot on the screen to click. Equipped with both Smart preset settings and advanced Pro settings, users can use the camera how they want by easily toggling between the two settings with the flick of a switch.
When it’s time to talk or stay connected, the VIBE Shot steps up to the plate with a gorgeous 5-in FHD display and equally powerful performance. Running Android™ 5.0 Lollipop on a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processor, the smartphone offers a generous 32 GB of storage with a microSD option to storage an additional 128 GB of music, movies and photos. Upload and download data quickly with LTE or connect via Wi-Fi hotspot and even manage separate data plans with dual SIM capabilities. The VIBE Shot makes it easy to change from photographer to subject with its 8-megapixel selfie camera. All this functionality comes in a sleek, thin and light aluminum frame – available in red, white or grey.
Price and Availability2
The VIBE Shot will be available starting in June in countries where Lenovo smartphones are sold, starting at $349 USD.

Comments

It worries me about Motorola. I hope they don't screw up with the Moto X, G, E and 360.

Tim R.

Oh god, that interface hurts my eyes

Daniel Walsh

Looks really good and that price is amazing.

Bluewall

SuperFish included

Vizair

Android 5.0 Lollipop with SuperFish™ Technology

Grahaman27

Thats how all chinese OS skins look. Every. single. one.

Đức Thành

Lenovo's UI didn't suck so bad before. They used something pretty close to stock, only with some visual changes like the launcher, icons and notification bar, and a bit in the settings and they added some bloat apps at most. It was actually decent enough. I wonder what got into them.

Guest

That back, though!

Nick Riley

That back, though! Sexy!

Arthur Dent

NEEDS MOAR SUPERFISH!!!

dude

A Moto X with a camera that doesn't blows and with OIS. I can only dream.

Konstigt2

Any photo samples compared to Iphone 6/6+? Would be interesting..

catiremedina

Though this one looks good I hope Asus shares more info on the Zenphone Zoom

Đức Thành

Lenovo's current UI direction sucks. It didn't used to suck so much before when it stuck to a close-to-stock interface, but this current iOS mimick just absolutely stinks. Especially on some of their tablets. I don't understand what is the deal with those Chinese manufacturers and their Apple obsession, that makes them go so far as to sometimes even be willing to cripple the devices.